Category: NFL Draft (Page 39 of 101)

      Jimmy Clausen latest to impress at Pro Day

      April 9, 2010 /

      According to Notre Dame beat writer Brian Hamilton of the Chicago Tribune, quarterback Jimmy Clausen completed 57-of-59 passes at his personal Pro Day on Friday. His two incompletions apparently came from overthrowing receiver Robby Parris, who isn’t exactly a speed demon.

      Clausen is now the third quarterback (Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy were the others) to impress at their individual pre-draft workouts. Bradford is expected to be taken with the first overall pick to the Rams, while Clausen should come off the board next and McCoy will probably be selected somewhere in the first three rounds.

      Personally, I see Clausen winding up in Oakland. The Raiders have the eighth overall pick and unless a team like the Bills (who pick ninth) jump ahead of them or the Browns surprise and take Clausen at No. 7, then he and Oakland seem like a logical fit. The Raiders have to do something about their quarterback situation, because it’s clear that JaMarcus Russell isn’t the answer and Bruce Gradkowski isn’t regarded as a franchise player.

      Many so-called pundits envision the Raiders taking an offensive tackle at No. 8 and in my first mock draft (which was done before the Eagles traded Donovan McNabb to the Redskins), I too had Oakland taking a lineman (Anthony Davis of Rutgers). But now that Washington has McNabb, the Redskins won’t take Clausen at No. 4 and he should be available for the Raiders at No. 8. If he is, Al Davis might not pass on the opportunity to pair Clausen up with 2008 first round pick Darren McFadden and 2009 first rounder Darrius Heyward-Bey.


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      Will the Bills take Clausen at No. 9?

      April 7, 2010 /

      As I’ve discussed throughout the past couple of days, the Donovan McNabb trade is likely to cause a ripple effect in this month’s draft. While head coach Mike Shanahan said recently that the Redskins could still take a quarterback with the fourth overall pick, it’s hard to imagine that they’d select a signal caller that high when they have so many other pressing needs.

      The Bills, however, are another story. They’ve seemingly given up on Trent Edwards and while Ryan Fitzpatrick is a fine backup, he’s not the solution either. That makes them an interesting possibility for Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen if he falls to them at No. 9.

      But will he fall? Assuming the Rams take Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford at No. 1, the Seahawks, Browns and Raiders – three teams that could be interested in quarterback – all pick before the Bills. Seattle traded for Charlie Whitehurst a couple of weeks ago and the Browns added Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace early this offseason, so both of those teams could be out of the running. (In fact, the Seahawks most definitely are – Whitehurst is their future.) But Oakland was presumably in the mix for McNabb, so they could snag the Notre Dame product at No. 8, one spot ahead of Buffalo.

      Of course, even if Clausen is available, the Bills still may take a pass. They have a glaring need for a left tackle and if they pass on someone like Anthony Davis or Bryan Bulaga at No. 9, they run the risk that a starting-caliber LT won’t be available when they pick again at No. 41. That said, if they believe that Clausen is a franchise quarterback, then they can’t pass on him. Having a good left tackle is vital, but quarterback trumps all other positions.

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      Would the Lions be interested in Haynesworth?

      April 6, 2010 /

      According to NFL.com’s Jason La Canfora, the Redskins are willing to “unload” defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth after unsuccessfully trying to trade him to Philadelphia as part of the Donovan McNabb deal. Apparently, Haynesworth didn’t make a good impression on new head coach Mike Shanahan, so the Redskins are ready to part ways with the massive DT, even though he just signed a seven-year, $100 million deal with Washington in 2009.

      Canfora writes that several executives believe the best and most likely option for Haynesworth is Tennessee, “where he played his best football and where he remains close with defensive line coach Jim Washburn.” The problem is that Haynesworth signed for $42 million in guaranteed money and other teams will be hesitant to put a bullet in their financial situation in order to acquire him. (Apparently other owners aren’t like Daniel Snyder, who gives away money like it’s Skittles.)

      While a return to Tennessee does make sense, I wonder why Canfora didn’t mention Detroit as another possible landing spot for Haynesworth. Lions’ head coach Jim Schwartz built his defense around Haynesworth in Tennessee and Detroit needs a DT seeing as how they’ve been linked to Ndamukong Suh at No. 2 in this month’s draft. If they acquired Haynesworth, then they could use their first round pick to address their need at offensive tackle.

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      How will the Browns’ acquisition of Brown affect their draft?

      April 3, 2010 /

      It was believed that the Browns would target a cornerback such as Florida’s Joe Haden with the No. 7 overall pick in this month’s draft. But that was before the team acquired Sheldon Brown from the Eagles on Friday.

      Along with Brown, Cleveland also acquired linebacker Chris Gocong from Philadelphia in exchange for linebacker Alex Hall, plus a fourth-round pick and a fifth-rounder. Gocong is a solid fit for the Browns’ 3-4 defense and will likely start opposite Matt Roth on the outside.

      But the more intriguing player in this trade is Brown, because he signifies that Cleveland probably won’t draft a cornerback at No. 7. Brown is 31 years old, but he’s still playing at a high level and the Browns restructured his contract, which now goes through 2012. He’ll pair up with Eric Wright to form a now above average cornerback tandem in Cleveland.

      Team president Mike Holmgren is probably hoping/banking on Tennessee’s Eric Berry slips to No. 7, seeing as how safety is now the Browns’ biggest need. But will Berry be there? Multiple teams that pick ahead of the Browns (including the Buccaneers and Seahawks) have been linked to Berry in mock drafts, although that means nothing at this point. Either way, Holmgren knew that he had to address his need at cornerback and may have felt that Haden would have been a reach at No. 7. If Berry falls to Cleveland in the first round, then Holmgren would have done very well in addressing the Browns’ defensive needs.


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      Dolphins’ interest in Dez Bryant heating up

      April 2, 2010 /

      After dealing with Keyshawn Johnson and Terrell Owens at separate times throughout his coaching career, one would think that Bill Parcells would pass on taking another receiver with diva potential. But the Dolphins’ interest for Oklahoma State wideout Dez Bryant continues to grow.

      The South Florida Sun-Sentinel is reporting that Bryant is in Miami for a visit with Parcells, after he was already wined and dined by head coach Tony Sparano and GM Jeff Ireland. Granted, the visit could wind up being a smokescreen by the Dolphins, but why would Parcells go as far as to meet with him if the team wasn’t truly interested?

      Many draft pundits believe that Bryant will still be on the board when the Dolphins select at No. 12. But there’s a possibility that the Jaguars (No. 10) and the Broncos (No. 11) could snag him before he reaches Miami, as could the Raiders at No. 8 if Al Davis is feeling frisky again for a receiver.

      That said, if Bryant is there at No. 12, there’s no doubt the Dolphins could use a receiver with No. 1 potential. Miami has all but completely given up on Ted Ginn Jr. and while the team did draft USC’s Patrick Turner and Ohio State’s Brian Hartline last year, neither is expected to develop into a true No. 1 for quarterback Chad Henne.

      We’ll continue to track the Bryant-Dolphins connection leading up to the draft.


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